|Publication number||US7194667 B2|
|Application number||US 10/794,696|
|Publication date||20 Mar 2007|
|Filing date||5 Mar 2004|
|Priority date||30 Aug 2000|
|Also published as||US6829737, US20040181724, US20060156136|
|Publication number||10794696, 794696, US 7194667 B2, US 7194667B2, US-B2-7194667, US7194667 B2, US7194667B2|
|Inventors||Jerry D. McBride|
|Original Assignee||Micron Technology, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (59), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (6), Classifications (19), Legal Events (2)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/651,858, filed Aug. 30, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,829,737, issued Dec. 7, 2004.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to integrated circuit test circuits and methods. In particular, the present invention relates to storage of test result data on an integrated circuit device in nonvolatile memory elements and, most particularly, to the inclusion of logic in the integrated circuit device for determining the results of device tests and enabling the storage of test results in the nonvolatile memory elements.
2. Statement of the Art
Semiconductor integrated circuit devices are manufactured on wafers or other substrates of semiconductor material. Conventionally, many devices are manufactured on a single wafer and individual devices or groups of devices are cut from the wafer and packaged. The devices are tested at various points during the manufacturing process, e.g., with electrical probes while they are still on the wafer, in die form (after singulation but prior to packaging) and after packaging.
During testing, a particular signal or combination of signals is input to the device and the output value or values read from the device are compared with values expected to be obtained from a properly functioning device. Tests may involve a particular signal or combination of signals being delivered repetitively, perhaps under extreme environmental conditions (temperature, voltage, etc.) in order to identify a device which would fail after a shorter than usual period of use (“burn-in” testing). Other tests may involve a number of different signals or signal combinations delivered in sequence. One method for testing a memory device is to deliver the same signal/signal combination to multiple identical subsections of the device simultaneously and compare the values read from the subsections (“compression testing”). If all of the respective, read values match, the test has been passed, while a mismatch between respective values read from any of the subsections indicates a device malfunction and failure of the test.
A particular test or test sequence often includes multiple test steps. Moreover, a complete test flow will often require that devices move from one piece of test equipment to another. For example, a first piece of test equipment and test fixtures may be utilized for probe: testing, another for burn-in testing and yet another for packaged device testing after burn-in.
After a particular test or test sequence has been completed, devices which have failed some or all of a test may be separated from the good devices. However, a device which has failed one portion of the test sequence may pass subsequent test sequences, so if it is erroneously placed into the “good” bin and then passes subsequent tests it may eventually be classified and sold as fully functional. One way to avoid this type of error is to store information regarding the test history of the device on the device itself in nonvolatile memory elements. One example describing storage of test results in nonvolatile memory on a semiconductor device is co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/946,027, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Test equipment used for testing integrated circuit devices conventionally transmits a test signal and then receives an output signal from the integrated circuit device. The test equipment then compares the output signal from the integrated circuit device with the value expected to be obtained from a properly functioning device and sends an instruction to the device which causes a specific nonvolatile memory element to be set to indicate either pass or fail of the test step. A series of nonvolatile memory elements may be set to indicate the results of a series of tests or test steps. The tester thus must include detectors and comparators so that it can read the output signal and perform a comparison to determine passage or failure of the test.
It would be advantageous to decrease the cost and complexity of the tester by eliminating the need for detectors and comparators on the test equipment.
It would be advantageous to eliminate the need for intelligence in device test equipment, by instead placing intelligence on the device being tested.
It would be desirable to provide for the storage of information concerning correct application of test sequences to the device on the device itself.
These and other advantages are provided by the invention.
The present invention includes a method and system for storing semiconductor device test results on a tested device, using on-device test circuitry for the determination of test results and control of test result storage. The semiconductor device, which may be a memory device, a microprocessor, or other semiconductor device, includes a plurality of nonvolatile memory elements which are set to indicate the results of a series of multiple tests or test steps. The semiconductor device may also include comparator circuitry, which compares test signals sent to the semiconductor device from a tester with data values read from the semiconductor device following receipt of the test signals, or which performs a comparison between data values read from multiple regions of a device, to determine correct functioning of the device. The semiconductor device includes a latch which is set to indicate passage or failure of the test. The latch enables circuitry which causes a nonvolatile memory element to be set upon receipt of an instruction from the tester. The latch, and subsequently the nonvolatile memory element,is set to represent the test results according to a predetermined rule. Typically, one logic level is latched to represent passage of a test and another is used to represent failure of the test. For example, logic high could represent pass and logic low would then represent fail or, alternatively, logic low could represent pass and logic high represent fail. Similarly, the nonvolatile memory element is set to one state to represent passage of a test and another to represent failure of the test.
By locating the circuitry that controls setting of memory elements to represent test results on the device being tested, the tester equipment does not need to receive values from the device being tested, perform a comparison between test values and received values to determine the outcome of the test, or determine whether a memory element should be set to store the test result. The tester needs only to transmit test signals and set signals to the semiconductor device, without receiving any values back from the semiconductor device. Accordingly, the design and construction of the test equipment can be simplified considerably.
In one embodiment of the invention, a rule used to determine the settings of latches and nonvolatile memory elements to represent pass/fail status is dependent on the test or test step being performed. That is, for certain tests/test steps a first state would represent pass and a second state would represent fail, while for other tests/test steps the second state would represent pass and the first state would represent fail. Therefore, a device which had passed all tests would be expected to have nonvolatile memory elements set in a predetermined pattern of first and second states. The pattern of first and second states corresponding to a known good device is obtained only when the device has been properly connected to the test equipment, received appropriate test signals and passed all tests.
A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in
Integrated Circuit Device Tester
Integrated circuit device tester 2 may be used for testing integrated circuit device 1. Integrated circuit device tester 2 is configured for sending a test signal on test signal line 21 and a test address signal on test address line 22. The test address signal specifies the address on integrated circuit device 1 to which the test signal is to be sent. Integrated circuit device tester 2 is also configured for sending a set signal on set signal line 23 and a set address signal on set address line 24. Lines 21, 22, 23 and 24 may be single lines or may be buses that carry multiple signals or bits of data. The set address signal indicates the address of the nonvolatile memory element which is to be set to indicate whether the device has passed or failed a particular test or test step. Integrated circuit device tester 2 has the capability of being programmed to perform multiple test steps, at each test step delivering a particular test signal to a particular address or set of addresses and subsequently sending a set signal and set address signal to select the nonvolatile memory device address memory which is to store the results of the test step. The set signal does not cause the nonvolatile memory element to be set directly, but enables setting of the nonvolatile memory element by circuitry on integrated circuit device 1.
Integrated circuit device tester 2 performs similarly to testers currently used in integrated circuit device testing. However, integrated circuit device tester 2 does not need to perform many of the functions conventionally performed by prior testers. For example, without limitation, integrated circuit device tester 2 does not need to perform the functions of reading values from integrated circuit device 1, comparing these values with expected values and, based on the results of the comparison, generating an instruction for setting a fuse or other nonvolatile memory element on integrated circuit device 1. Thus, integrated circuit device tester 2 used in the practice of the invention could be a conventional tester programmed to omit unnecessary functions, but still including the detectors, comparators and other hardware which may be used in reading and comparison steps, or it could be a redesigned tester which did not include the detectors, comparators and other hardware rendered superfluous by the present invention.
Integrated Circuit Device
Integrated circuit device 1 may be a memory device such as a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), or Video Random Access Memory (VRAM), FLASH or other nonvolatile memory devices, a microprocessor, microcontroller, memory controller, Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or other device which is to undergo a test sequence. Integrated circuit device 1 may include various elements depending upon the type of the device. However, only those elements relevant to the functioning of the test circuitry of the present invention are shown in the Figures. Referring now to
Send/receive locations 10 may be memory locations if integrated circuit device 1 is a memory device, or they may be inputs and outputs to an integrated circuit if integrated circuit device 1 is something other than a memory device, for example, a microprocessor, microcontroller, memory controller, ASIC, etc. Send/receive locations 10 are employed in the normal functioning of integrated circuit 1, whereas other components of test circuitry 106 are included for testing purposes and may not be used in routine operation of the integrated circuit. Integrated circuit device 1 may include multiple send/receive locations 10. At a given test step, the send/receive location to be tested is selected according to the test address signal sent on test address line 22 by the integrated circuit device tester 2. Alternatively, it would be possible to access a given send/receive location 10 by means of a direct line without the use of addressing. Each send/receive location 10 may contain one bit or multiple bits (for example, a byte or 8 bits). A test signal is sent to the selected send/receive location 10 on input line 101, and the resulting output signal is received by comparator circuit 11 on corresponding output line 102. Input line 101 and output line 102 may be either the same or separate lines. If send/receive location 10 contains multiple bits, input line 101 and output line 102 may be either parallel or serial lines. Comparator circuit 11 performs a comparison between the value received from the selected send/receive location 10 and the value expected to be obtained from a properly functioning device. For example, if the addressed send/receive location 10 is a memory location, the value read from the memory location should be the same as the value written to the memory location. If a device other than a memory device is being tested, it may be the case that the output value from a particular address will not be the same as that input to the location. However, if the device is functioning properly, a particular output will always correspond to a particular input. The comparator circuit 11 may store (e.g., latch) the current test value for use as the expected value if a memory device is being tested or it may receive an expected value sent from integrated circuit device tester 2 separate from the test signal. As a further alternative, the expected value may be preset in the device according to a predetermined design rule. In this case, comparator circuit 11 may not truly perform a comparison between the output and the expected value. Since the expected value is always the same, comparator circuit 11 need only be configured so that one output value causes the latch to be set and the other causes it to be unset. This approach would have application primarily in the testing of memory devices.
Test latch 12 may be set depending on whether or not the output from the send/receive location matches the expected value. The latch setting preferably represents the pass or fail status of the test. Test latch 12 is connected to set logic 13 via latch signal line 15. When test latch 12 is set to a logical high value, set logic 13 receives an enable signal on latch signal line 15. At the end of a test step, integrated circuit device tester 2 sends a set signal on set signal line 23 and a set address signal on set address line 24. If both an enable signal and a set signal are received by set logic 13, the nonvolatile memory element 14 addressed by the set address signal is set by a signal on line 140, thereby providing a permanent record on the integrated circuit device 1 of the outcome of the test step. The nonvolatile memory elements 14 remain unset (i.e., set at its original value) if no enable signal is received at the time a set signal is received by set logic 13. It would also be possible to configure test latch 12 so that an enable signal is sent on latch signal line 15 when test latch 12 is set to a logic low value.
Nonvolatile memory elements 14 may include, without limitation, laser or electrical fuses, antifuses, FLASH memory cells, FERAM memory cells, or other nonvolatile memory elements, which may be set to at least two states (e.g., blown or unblown in the case of fuses or antifuses, programmed or unprogrammed in the case of FLASH memory cells, or logic high and logic low for other types of memory elements), one of which may represent a passing test result and one of which may represent a fail test result. Existing semiconductor devices conventionally include enough nonvolatile memory elements for storing data regarding device test results according to the method of the invention without adding additional elements. However, it is preferred that additional, dedicated nonvolatile memory elements be added. Integrated circuit device 1 may include multiple nonvolatile memory elements. Nonvolatile memory elements are preferably addressable, being accessed with the use of an address signal sent from integrated circuit device tester 2. However, in the alternative, nonvolatile memory elements could be accessed by dedicated lines or by other means, rather than being addressable.
By first setting test latch 12, and subsequently setting nonvolatile memory element 14 based on the value of test latch 12, the steps of performing a comparison and obtaining a test result are separated from the step of storing the test result in the nonvolatile memory element 14. It may be advantageous to separate these steps because the same inputs or signal lines may be used in the different steps; thus, separating the steps allows few inputs or lines to be used.
As discussed above, the setting of test latch 12, and subsequently the setting of a selected nonvolatile memory element 14, represent the result of a given test step. The relationship between the test result and the setting of nonvolatile memory element 14 will generally follow a predetermined rule. In the simplest case, the rule will be that for a particular test result, the latch will always be set to a particular value. For example, comparator circuit 11 may be configured to set test latch 12 to a logical high value if the value on output line 102 matches the expected value, i.e., the test step is passed, and a logical low value if the value on output line 102 does not match the expected value, i.e., the test step is failed. Alternatively, comparator circuit 11 may be configured so that test latch 12 is set to a logical high value if the output does not match the expected value, i.e., the test step has been failed, and to a logical low value if the test step is passed. The value to which nonvolatile memory element 14 is set then corresponds to the value to which test latch 12 is set, so that nonvolatile memory element 14 is blown, set or programmed, depending on the type of nonvolatile memory element when test latch 12 is set high and left unblown, unset or unprogrammed when test latch 12 is set low. Alternatively, nonvolatile memory element 14 could be blown, set or programmed when test latch 12 is set low, and vise versa.
In one embodiment of the invention, comparator circuit 11 and set logic 13 may be configured so that the setting of a nonvolatile memory element 14 is a function of both the result of the test step and the particular test step. At certain test steps a nonvolatile memory element 14 may be set to a first state if the test is passed and a second state if the test is failed, while at other test steps a nonvolatile memory element 14 may be set to a second state if the test is passed and a first state if the test is failed. For example, passing results for sequential test steps could be represented by a pattern of alternating first and second states. In this embodiment of the invention, a device which has passed all tests is expected to have nonvolatile memory elements set in a predetermined pattern of first and second states. The advantage of this approach is that the pattern of first and second states corresponding to a known good device is likely to be obtained only when the device has been properly connected to the test equipment, received appropriate test signals, and passed all tests. In contrast, if pass results are represented with a single nonvolatile memory setting, false pass results may be obtained if a device has all nonvolatile memory locations set to the same value prior to testing and the original settings are not changed during testing because the device is not properly connected to the semiconductor device.
Although it is preferred to include the step of setting a latch intermediate the steps of determining a test result and storing the test result in a nonvolatile memory element for the reasons noted previously, the concept of storing test results as a function of test step and test result could be applied in a system in which test results were stored directly in nonvolatile memory elements without the intermediate step of storing the results first in a latch. The general concept of storing test results in nonvolatile memory elements without intermediate storage in a latch is already known in the prior art.
As described above, the results of each test step may be represented in the setting of a selected nonvolatile memory element 14 according to a predetermined rule. Either one or both of comparator circuit 11 or set logic 13 may include circuitry which implements said predetermined rule.
In the embodiment of the invention depicted in
In yet another alternative embodiment of the invention, as depicted in
The different embodiments of the invention are particularly suited for different types of device testing, as will be described hereinbelow. It will be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention depicted in
In yet another embodiment of the invention, multiple latches may be provided on integrated circuit device 1, or on each subsection of integrated circuit device 1, so that results of multiple test steps may be stored in latches prior to being stored in nonvolatile memory elements. Thus, multiple test steps may be presented in sequence, and the step of storing the test results in nonvolatile memory elements may be carried out after a sequence of test steps has been presented, rather than after each test step. Each latch may be independently addressable or may be accessed by means of a dedicated line.
During testing of an integrated circuit device 1, a variety of test signals may be sent to the device in sequence by the integrated circuit device tester 2. Values received or read from the device are compared with expected values. The results of the comparisons are ultimately stored on the device in multiple nonvolatile memory elements. Each nonvolatile memory element may represent the results of a particular test or test step. Nonvolatile memory elements may be configured to represent different time points or read points in a test sequence or to represent test results for particular regions of the integrated circuit device. An advantage of storing test results in nonvolatile memory elements on the device is that the nonvolatile memory elements can be checked later to determine results of tests as well as whether a test was carried out properly; the device thus carries its own test history.
In some cases, whether the result obtained at a particular test step may determine whether a subsequent test step should be carried out. Therefore, in such cases it will be necessary for test equipment, such as integrated circuit device tester 2, to read test results stored on integrated circuit device 1 so that an appropriate subsequent test step can be determined.
Prior art integrated circuit device testers include the intelligence for determining whether to set a nonvolatile memory element on the integrated circuit device by evaluating the results of tests performed on the device. With the present invention, the device being tested includes the intelligence to determine whether to set a given nonvolatile memory element to represent test results. The tester sends a set signal and a set address indicating the address of the nonvolatile memory element associated with the current test step for each test step. However, the nonvolatile memory element is set only if the set signal is present and the latch storing the result of the comparison indicates that the nonvolatile memory element should be set. The following examples describe the process by which test steps are delivered, test results are determined, and storage of test results on the semiconductor device in nonvolatile memory elements.
A flow diagram for the general test procedure used with the embodiment of the invention in
A flow diagram for burn-in testing is provided in
Compression testing is used to shorten test times by simultaneously testing several identical subsections of a semiconductor device, or several regions on different devices of the same type. The block diagram of
As shown in
As will be clear to one of ordinary skill in the art, the principles of the present invention may be used in conjunction with any number of the various semiconductor test methods known in the art and is not limited to those test methods described herein, or to the testing of memory devices. By including at least one latch circuit within a semiconductor device to indicate whether a nonvolatile memory element should be initiated, testing devices may be simplified. Additionally, by storing passing test result data as a mixed code of two different states rather than merely as a series of entirely the first state or the second state, the success of a series of tests may more accurately be determined.
While the present invention has been described and illustrated in terms of certain specific embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that it is not so limited. Additions to, deletions from and modifications to these specific embodiments may be effected without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Furthermore, features and elements from one specific embodiment may be likewise applied to another embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as defined herein.
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|U.S. Classification||714/718, 365/201|
|International Classification||G01R31/317, G01R31/00, G11C29/00, G11C29/44|
|Cooperative Classification||G11C2029/1208, G01R31/2894, G11C16/04, G01R31/31718, G11C29/44, G11C29/38, G11C29/56, G01R31/31703|
|European Classification||G01R31/28G7, G11C29/38, G01R31/317C, G11C29/44, G01R31/317L|
|18 Aug 2010||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|20 Aug 2014||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8